Speakers

Convention Speakers

Bill Jack – Worldview Academy Faculty Advisor

Bill Jack is an educator with ten years experience in secular schools and 14 years with The Caleb Campaign, a creationist youth ministry. Bill Jack is faculty advisor for Worldview Academy, an academic leadership program that seeks to train Christian students to think and live in accord with a Biblical worldview so that they will serve Christ and lead the culture. Bill has appeared on numerous national radio and television programs and is the producer of several apologetic and worldview training DVDs. Bill’s passion is to raise up a generation who have the vision to reach their culture with the gospel, who have the valor to engage that culture with the truth and who rely on the virtue of the Word of God. Bill and his wife, Tabby, have three children and live in Colorado.

Carol Barnier – Nationally Ranked Author, Speaker & Blogger

Carol Barnier is a fresh, fun and popular conference speaker who continually strives to have the wit of Erma Bombeck crossed with the depth of C.S. Lewis but admits that most days she only achieves a solid Lucy Ricardo with a bit of Bob the Tomato. While her humor will have you leaning sideways, her faith is solid stuff. Whether speaking about her first born son’s 13 surgeries, her family’s many ADHD challenges, or her own walk from being a God-denying atheist to the most grateful recipient of God’s amazing grace, this woman speaks from the heart. She knows why she knows what she knows. Carol homeschools her three children in New Hampshire, and is the author of the books, The BG WHAT Now Book of Learning Styles, Engaging Today’s Prodigal, How to Get Your Kid Off the Refrigerator and On to Learning, and If I’m Diapering a Watermelon then Where’d I Leave the Baby? Follow Carol’s blog at www.sizzlebop.com.

Diane and her husband Tom homeschooled their two children from kindergarten through 12th grade using a variety of teaching options. The Kummers’ daughter completed her master’s degree in government and their son earned a bachelor of arts degree in communications/public relations. After her children graduated from high school, Diane helped to develop HSLDA’s Homeschooling Thru High School program and website. As an HSLDA High School Consultant, Diane regularly speaks throughout the country at homeschool conferences and one-day high school symposiums where she shares from her experiences and her imperfect (but real) homeschooling days!

Faith Berens lives in Stephens City, VA with her husband, Matthew, daughter, Hailey and son, Hayden. Faith joined the HSLDA team of Special Needs Consultants in 2008 and homeschools her children, as well as works as a private educational consultant and evaluator. Some of her passions include reading for pleasure, singing, traveling, nature/science, leading Bible studies, and teaching reading to struggling students. Faith holds a Master’s degree in reading from Shenandoah University. She has over 15 years of teaching experience that includes serving as a classroom teacher in public and private Christian schools, Reading Recovery® teacher, reading specialist, NILD educational therapist, home educator, and tutor. Her areas of expertise are early childhood literacy, reading assessment, and the identification and remediation of reading difficulties and disabilities.

Patrick Nurre

Patrick Nurre is from the beautiful state of Montana where as a young boy, he spent many of his Saturdays rockhounding near the Big Horn River. This early interest led him to a lifelong study of the world of geology. His experience has included extensive field study in the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest and Plains states, the Southwestern U.S, and most recently, Israel. Patrick conducts classes and seminars in Seattle, and speaks at numerous home school conventions on geology and our young earth. He leads a variety of geology field trips every year, including one to Yellowstone Park, where he helps families discover the Biblical geology of Yellowstone. Patrick’s business, Northwest Treasures, is devoted to producing fine geology specimen kits and curricula from a young earth perspective. September 2012 saw the opening of his Geology Learning Center in Seattle. Patrick and his wife Vicki live in the Seattle, Washington area.

Karen Craig

Karen has taught in French, Latin, and English in private and homeschool settings. She was active in Delaware Home Educators Association until her family moved to Moscow, Idaho in 1996. Charles and Karen homeschooled two sons. One is a medical professional and the other is currently serving in the US Marine Corps. Karen has her formal training in English Literature and Composition and French, but by a special blessing she has a solid background in Latin from teachers who lived and breathed ‘The Classics.’ From teaching language in Christian schools to attending the DEA luncheon where Pat Forgione introduced Goals 2000, to supervising homeschoolers, to providing small group and individual tutorials, Karen is dedicated to excellence in home education. She is currently in the middle of a project of revising her Matin Latin textbooks, which she wrote to meet the needs of her students. Karen believes one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is the ability to confidently express themselves through the spoken and written word.

Linda Patchin

Linda Patchin is a founding and current board member of Christian Homeschoolers of Idaho State. Her column, CHOIS Tidbits appears in every issue of the CHOIS Connection Magazine, as well as other homeschooling publications. She and her husband, Paul, have successfully completed home educating their four children.

Barry Peters

Mr. Barry Peters, Esq., is a member of the board of legal advisors for the Idaho Coalition of Home Educators and Christian Homeschoolers of Idaho State. His regular legal updates inform Idaho homeschoolers of challenges to their right to home educate. He also writes a column, Legal Update, for each issue of hte CHOIS Connection Magazine. Mr. Peters’ law practice, in Eagle, Idaho, specializes in the areas of real estate, estate planning, and business law. He and his wife, Res, have successfully completed home educating their two daughters.

Copper Webb

As an Idaho homeschool graduate, Copper Webb grew up planning and preparing for the day when she would have her own children learning around the kitchen table. While she was waiting for that season of life, Copper wrote the curriculum that CHOIS has been using for the past decade in their Children’s Program. She endeavors to encourage and equip families who are establishing their own homeschools, and when she can find rare uninterrupted time at the computer, she blogs. Copper and her husband of ten years, Mike, live in Meridian with their four children.

Ken Barnes

Ken is a software developer and author of the regular CHOIS Connection article, “Ask a Geek.” He and his wife Cindy have been homeschooling their four children since 2003. He has taught math and computer science at the high school and collegiate levels and teaches math, computer, and astronomy classes in a local homeschool co-op.

Cheryl Henbest

Cheryl and her husband Jerry have been married nearly 23 years. For the past several years, Cheryl has run a home-based business and worked a full-time job as her husband completed his college degree and began his new career. These difficult years have strengthened their family and commitment to homeschooling. Cheryl continues to work at an area hospital, where the opportunities to share Christ’s love are endless. She and Jerry live in Meridian, Idaho, and homeschool their four children.

Ken Frederick

Ken presents workshops with educational insight, practical knowledge, and humor. He was a wildland firefighter for many years and has taught outdoor skills to groups ranging from middle and high school students to the Boy Scouts and the Civil Air Patrol. A graduate of Eastern Washington University and Denver Seminary, he works at the Bureau of Land Management and lives with his wife Marylin in Meridian, Idaho, where they homeschool their four children.

Bill Jack Engages His Audience

Having taught in the public schools for 10 years, Bill Jack is a captivating speaker who teaches his audiences how to think logically and Biblically. He’s also a speaker with the Worldview Academy and has produced several videos on the subject of Apologetics. Below is a video you can watch here on our website see Mr. Jack teach. Click on the link to view a sneak preview of Bill Jack’s class.

You Have Got
To Meet Carol!

We are so excited to be bringing back Carol Barnier as a keynote speaker this year. Carol will be presenting two keynote sessions and six workshops. To see her in action click this link below to see a sneak preview of her speaking.